BoA offers to repay part of bailout package

September 01, 2009 18:27 IST

The Bank of America has proposed to repay part of the US government bailout money, while the US is pressing the bank to pay at least $500 million to defer a tentative agreement that would have the government share its losses on certain assets, says a media report.

"Bank of America Corp is offering to repay part of its bailout money, and the US is pushing for the bank to pay at least $500 million to shelve a tentative pact that would have had the government share its losses on certain assets," The Wall Street Journal said.

According to the move, both relate to an extra measure of federal aid given to help BofA complete its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Both sets of discussions, if completed, would enable BofA to reduce a layer of federal involvement in its affairs, the report said attributing to people familiar with the matter.

However, the bank is not offering to repay all of its $45 billion in aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, (TARP) as several other banks have done, the report noted.

"Instead, BofA is suggesting it could start with the $20 billion of additional aid supplied in January when the bank was hesitating to complete its takeover of loss-ridden Merrill," it added.